Magic Statistics

Sheesh!  As an Anglican, I am mortified.

Anglican bishops of the Province of Central Africa have written a pastoral letter generally supportive of Zimbabwe’s megalomaniacal dictator, only days after Roman Catholic leaders called for regime change.  The Anglicans recognised that, because the country’s economy has almost completely tanked, it is very difficult for ordinary citizens to survive.  But, they went on, that’s not Robert Mugabe’s fault.

“So-called targeted sanctions aimed at the leadership of the country have affected the poor Zimbabweans who have borne the brunt of sanctions,” the bishops said after a meeting of the central African Episcopal Synod.

That’s pretty much the same line Mugabe takes when explaining the foundering economy.

So, Mugabe’s ruination of Zimbabwe’s agricultural industry by seizing hugely productive white-owned farms that now lie wasted has nothing to do with that.

By contrast, Zimbabwe’s Catholics met last week under the leadership of Archbishop Pius Ncube and issued a statement accusing Mugabe and his cronies of corruption and political abuses and deploring the government's disregard for human rights. 

The Anglican pastoral letter was signed by Archbishop Bernard Malango, primate of Central Africa, and twelve other Anglican leaders, including Nolbert Kunonga, Bishop of Harare, and Trevor Mwamba, Bishop of Botswana.  (The list of signatories is found near the bottom of this page.)

The letter represents an embarrassment for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams who last month signed a joint statement with Abp Malango and Bp Kunonga expressing concern about the human rights situation in Zimbabwe.  The two African Anglicans now appear rather less concerned about that.

Previous related posts:

• Zimbabwe’s Archbishop Ncube ready to face bullets
• Rowan Williams “shares concerns” with renegade Zimbabwean bishop
• Zimbabwean Anglicans want primates to take down Bishop Kunonga
• Archbishop Pius Ncube: Mugabe’s most defiant opponent

UPDATE (23 Apr.):  The pastoral letter of the Anglican Bishops of the Province of Central Africa is posted here, and the pastoral letter of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference is posted here.  Compare and contrast.

Thanks respectively to Pageantmaster and Paula L, commenters at Stand Firm in Faith, for the links.  Thanks also to Greg Griffith for linking to this post.  There was some discussion at Stand Firm as to whether the Anglican bishops' letter really does support Mugabe, and I threw in another two cents' worth over there.

UPDATE (26 Apr.): Follow-ups here and here. 

These bicycle lanes must have been designed by evil geniuses.

This one was found in Brighton, England.

And this one “somewhere abroad”, probably in Belgium.

Both photos were posted at The Weird Cycle Lanes of Brighton, a very comprehensive website run by Alan (Fred) Pipes.  Fred also has a blog here.  Check ‘em out!  They’re good for hours of entertaining bewilderment.

Previous related posts:

• Someone doesn’t like bicyclists
• Barmy bike lane

British journalist Robert Fisk has written a lot of disagreeble nonsense over the years, but his column in yesterday’s Independent raises an issue of importance for all who believe in freedom of academic inquiry and freedom of speech.  The courageous Turkish-born historian Taner Akcam (at right), author of A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility, was detained by Canadian immigration officials for four hours earlier this year when he tried to enter the country to deliver a scheduled lecture at McGill University.

It ultimately emerged that he had been held because a malicious accusation of terrorist activities had found its way into the hands of Canadian immigration officials.  That accusation was originally posted on the internet and was even briefly included in his Wikipedia biography.

As he wrote in a letter to me this month, "Additional to the criminal investigation (law 301) in Turkey, there is a hate campaign going on here in the USA, as a result of which I cannot travel internationally any more… My recent detention at the Montreal airport - apparently on the basis of anonymous insertions in my Wikipedia biography - signals a disturbing new phase in a Turkish campaign of intimidation that has intensified since the November 2006 publication of my book."

Akcam was travelling to lecture in Montreal and took the Northwest Airlines flight from Minneapolis on 16 February this year. The Canadian immigration officer, Akcam says, was "courteous" - but promptly detained him at Montreal's Trudeau airport. Even odder, the Canadian immigration officer asked him why he needed to be detained. Akcam tells me he gave the man a brief history of the genocide and of the campaign of hatred against him in the US by Turkish groups "controlled by … Turkish diplomats" who "spread propaganda stating that I am a member of a terrorist organisation".

On his way back to the United States, where he has been Visiting Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota’s Centre of Holocaust & Genocide Studies since 2002, he was detained for an hour at the Montreal airport by US Homeland Security officers before being allowed to board his flight.  An officer advised him to hire a lawyer and get the matter resolved once and for all, or risk being inconvenienced every time he crosses the US border.

Dr Akcam’s own version of the events has been published online in The Armenian Reporter.  He notes that, in all probability, Canadian border guards did not prowl the internet in search of damning allegations about him.  It is virtually certain that Dr Akcam’s enemies delivered the material to the authorities.

It was unlikely, to say the least, that a Canadian immigration officer found out that I was coming to Montreal, took the sole initiative to research my identity on the Internet, discovered the archived Christmas Eve version of my Wikipedia biography, printed it out seven weeks later on February 16, and showed it to me – voila! – as a result. The fact is that my upcoming lecture had been publicized well in advance in the Canadian print and broadcast media. An announcement had even been inserted in Wikipedia five days before my arrival. Moreover, two Turkish-American websites hostile to my work – the 500-page Tall Armenian Tale, and the 19,000-member Turkish Forum listserv – had been hinting for months that my “terrorist” activities ought to be of interest to American immigration authorities. It seemed far more likely that one or more individuals had seized the opportunity to denounce me to the Canadians. Although I was forced to cancel two radio interviews, I made it to the McGill campus in time to lecture on A Shameful Act.

Turkey still refuses to admit that the government of its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, attempted to eradicate the  Armenian people from its territory.  It continues to denounce and threaten citizens and foreign governments who recognise—or even discuss—the Armenian Genocide.  Dr Akcam has acquired  powerful and belligerent enemies because he has documented the genocide, and the Ottoman government’s instigation, in books and public lectures.

That Canadian immigration authorities would take seriously baseless allegations from anonymous internet posts is very disturbing.  I hope that my government will take steps to ensure that such bullying never happens again.

This Tuesday, 24 April, is the 92nd anniversary of Medz Yeghern, "The Great Cataclysm", now recognised as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day.  For more information, see my post on last year’s anniversary.

The reference to “criminal investigation (law 301) in Turkey” pertains to a charge of “insulting Turkishness” that was lodged against Dr Akcam for statements contained in A Shameful Act.  A similar charge was pending against Hrant Dink when he was assassinated in Istanbul last January.  The charge against Akcam has since been dropped.

Several documents pertaining to Dr Akcam’s treatment at the hands of the Turkish government have been posted at the University of Minnesota’s website.

Previous related posts:

• The largest genocide in history against Christians
• Turkey adamant: Armenian genocide shall not be discussed
• Turkey pressures Canada to back away from recognition of Armenian genocide
• Remember the Armenian Genocide

The collect for today, The Second Sunday After Easter, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, who hast given thine only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an ensample of godly life; Give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 St Peter 2:19-25
The Gospel: St John 10:11-16